Longtime second-in-command to retire from Lowell High

LOWELL -- After a 40-year career in education, the second-in-command at Lowell High School will retire at the end of the school year.

Wendy Jack, director of curriculum and instruction for the past 13 years, had intended to retire in February, but was convinced to stay on board through the end of the school year.

Jack said after a conversation with Superintendent of Schools Jean Franco, she decided that she would stay on until mid-May to see the high school through the second semester examinations and end-of-year activities.

"I'm going to stay around a little longer," said Jack. "I'm very happy to do it."

In an interview Monday, Franco said Jack's intent to retire surprised her, even though she knew Jack had many years of teaching under her belt.

"Dr. Jack has the commitment of Lowell High School in the forefront of her work," said Franco. "She's always looking to what she can do to better the work."

Jack, of Derry, N.H., oversees all aspects of teaching and learning at the high school, including supervision and evaluation of the staff.

Jack said one of the strengths of Lowell and one of the reasons she's enjoyed teaching there is the city's diversity.

School Committee member David Conway, who worked with Jack when he was a housemaster at the high school, said Jack will be greatly missed.

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"I found her to be a very effective, a no-nonsense individual that rolled up her sleeves and wasn't shy in getting right into and doing the job," Conway said.

Jack will especially be missed as the high school prepares for its accreditation in two years.

Conway said Jack was at the helm of the accreditation process eight years ago and has already been preparing for the school's upcoming accreditation.

In 2008, Jack was a finalist for the superintendent position that went to Chris Scott, now head of the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative. Jack received two votes for the School Department's top job, one from Conway and the other from Regina Faticanti.

Jack started out as a schoolteacher in Salem, N.H., for 14 years before moving on to the Manchester Public School system, where she held various administrative positions, up to assistant superintendent and interim superintendent.

She has been at Lowell High for 15 years.

Jack said taking a position in a school setting was the right move for her.

"It gave me an opportunity to get closer to students. Working in the central office, I missed working with students. It's one of the things I've enjoyed a lot being in Lowell," she said.

Franco said she is discussing with her team whether to fill the position on an interim basis or post it immediately.

She said there are a number of qualified people internally to fill the position.

"We have very talented administrators and people who I believe are going to dedicate their whole careers to Lowell," she said. "All things being equal, we want to hire our own people who know about the system."

Jack was discussed as one of the contenders to fill the headmaster position at Lowell High, if Headmaster Ed Rozmiarek did not return in September.

Jack said she was not interested in the headmaster position.

Jack said she has various consulting positions lined up and she plans to spend more time with her family at their home in New Brunswick.

"I would never retire from anywhere, if I didn't have a plan for another opportunity," said Jack. "I think retiring to stay at home is not for me."

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